Re: [PLUG] Motherboard too long for PCIE cards?

[PaulNM <plug@paulscrap.com>]

On 09/02/2014 08:26 PM, Aaron Mulder wrote:
> Do you have another card you can compare the problematic RAID card to?
>  You know, if you line up the bottom pins that go in the PCI slot on
> both cards side by side, do the brackets line up too or does the RAID
> card have a bracket too close in?  If they match, could the
> motherboard be mounted in an incorrect position in the case (like are
> there multiple sets of screw holes and the wrong ones were used)?
> 

Nope, the RAID card is a normal PCIE card.  The motherboard is right up
against the I/O shield.  This definitely isn't a minor misalignment.

Sorry, this is one of those times where the problem can't really be well
explained with words.  If you look at:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/fullimage.php?image=1719

and/or the RAID card pic, you'll see that PCIE slots are only just over
2 inches from the back.  The picture of the SuperMicro motherboard shows
that its x16 slot is an entire x16 slot leangth away (~6 inches).
That's over three times as far.

- PaulNM

> Thanks,
>        Aaron
> 
> On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 5:59 PM, PaulNM <plug@paulscrap.com> wrote:
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>>         Casey's recent question about PCIE card specs gave me a good push to
>> investigate a PCIE-related question of my own.  Unfortunately neither
>> the pdf Casey found nor my own Google searches came up with any answers.
>>
>>         A while ago I helped a a non-profit in the area build a couple of
>> massive storage servers.  The server has a PCIE raid card that we're
>> only using to connect a bunch of drives too. (We're using mdadm/software
>> raid.)
>>
>>         The problem is the external bracket on the card doesn't reach the back
>> of the server case, the card is too short.  As a result, only the pcie
>> slot itself and the card's heatsink (resting on another heatsink) are
>> supporting the card, I can't screw it into the case.
>>
>>         While I've come across low-profile, half-height, short card, and long
>> card related stuff, nothing fits my situation.  All of them have the
>> slot and back bracket at the same distance from each other, the slot is
>> right next to the back of the case.
>>
>>         Is this normal for server cases, are there any adapters or "bracket
>> extensions" I can get somewhere?
>>
>> More info:
>>
>>
>>         The motherboard in question is a SUPERMICRO X8DTU-F.
>>
>> http://www.esaitech.com/supermicro-intel-xeon-5600-dual-lga-1366-ddr3-server-mother-board-x8dtu-f-o.html
>>
>> (click on picture for larger view)
>>
>>         As you can see, the PCIE X16 slot is midway down the board.  We have a
>> riser turning the port 90 degrees, but the bracket for the card barely
>> makes it halfway to the back of the case.
>>
>>         The case is a Supermicro SC847 A-R1400UB.
>>
>> http://amadisystems.com/supermicro-4u-36x3-5-hot-swap-1400w-redundant-rackmount-server-chassis-847e16-r1400lpb.html
>>
>>         For the curious, the card is a HIGHPOINT RocketRAID 2760A SAS/SATA 6
>> Gb/s RAID Controller.  I don't really recommend it, though it's working
>> ok-ish for us after giving us a bunch of issues to workaround.
>>
>> It looks like this:
>> http://www.amazon.com/HighPoint-RocketRAID-2782-PCI-Controller/dp/B0058TLB38
>> only without the two external Mini-SAS ports.  The bracket is one solid
>> piece.
>>
>> - PaulNM
>>
>>
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> ___________________________________________________________________________
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